Report Card

Trent Wycoff

09/17/2006

RaiderPower.com grades the Texas Tech offensive and defensive units for their efforts against TCU. Come inside to find out who made the grade.

Quarterbacks

D+

Graham Harrell proved to
be human after all against TCU. The TCU defense put pressure on him and
defied Harrell all game with the different looks that they were bringing.
The road environment appeared to get the better of him, and he unfortunately
looked inexperienced for the first time. He was inaccurate on quite a few
throws, and was unable to audible as successfully as before. This loss is
part of his growing pains as a young QB, and will make him better in the future.

Running Backs

B

Shannon Woods and Baron Batch did what they could. The fact is, the holes weren't there for them
for most of the game. Yet Shannon averaged 5.2 yards per carry, while
Batch's only attempt netted four yards. Woods was still impressive in my
eyes, as the only time that he was shut down would be when there was absolutely
no places for him to run through. It is still far too early to make an
accurate assessment on Batch given his limited carries.

Wide Receivers

F

I would have never
believed that I would give an F to our receiving corps, yet here we are.
Not only were they not getting open for the most part, they couldn't catch a
thing. Furthermore, there were several plays where they weren't even
looking for the ball. Add to all of that the lazy routes that most of the
players were running, and you have a sub-par offense. Todd Walker was the
only receiver who was actually doing his job and getting open, but Graham never
even looked his way.

Offensive Line

C+

Considering all of the
time that Harrell was taking in the pocket waiting for receivers to get open,
the pass protection was actually decent. Also, it is worth mentioning that
the talent of the TCU defensive line is one of their team strengths.
However, the run blocking was not what it needed to be. One play in
particular that stuck out in my mind was on a 3rd and 1. It was a handoff
to Shannon, and he was met by three TCU defenders in the backfield immediately
after he received the ball. Woods never had a chance.

Defensive Line

B+

Jake Ratliff owned
everyone. The guy had an outstanding game, causing all kinds of mayhem in
the TCU backfield. Also, Freshmen Rajon Henley, Richard Jones, and Dan'Tay
Ward are playing extremely well and generating excitement for the future.
However, the unit loses some points because the experienced players on the
defensive line are not living up to what you would expect from such talent.
We will need them to step it up this season.

Linebackers

B-

Chad Hill was the bright
spot here. He was thrust into more playing time thanks to a bone-headed
move by Kellen Tillman that got him ejected. Also, Paul Williams had a
strong outing, save an ill-advised fair catch on a kickoff. Fletcher Session played well, except for one familiar looking play in which he missed a
tackle for what would have been an important sack. Stratton did his job,
providing decent coverage and solid run support. However, the unit
must work on their tackling.

Secondary

A-

For a unit suffering
from injuries, the defensive backs truly played well. Joe Garcia finally
came to play with the effort that I had praised him throughout the Fall for.
Jamar Wall proved to be a very capable starter by filling in for an injured
Chris Parker and a temporarily sidelined Antonio Huffman. Darcel McBath is
providing some great help in coverage. Also, Anthony Hines did well in his
return to the team and provided a nice addition to the unit.

I'll be nice and call
this a mediocre
effort by the team as a whole, considering the great defensive play and the fact
that we were playing a tough opponent in their house with revenge on their
minds. If you had told me before the game that TCU would be held to 281
yards, 12 points, and no TDs, I would have assumed that we would win easily.
For a team that prides itself on offense and passing the ball, we were certainly
not playing like it. Hopefully, the offense's poor play was an aberration,
as my friend and fellow RP writer Mitchell Fish put it. In this game, what
were supposedly our strengths became our weaknesses, while our weaknesses became
our strengths. It can be argued that only one side of the ball showing up
to play will not get it done. Conversely, a more optimistic point of view
suggests that since both the units have had their strong performances, this
bodes well for the future as it shows team balance. Still, the offense and
defense must work on helping each other out more if we expect to be a legitimate
contender.

-Trent Wycoff

(Questions, comments, praise, and constructive criticism
can be directed to Trent within the forums or through email at
trent@raiderpower.com